Water Assisted Toilet Plunger

ABSTRACT

A typical toilet plunger is disclosed that allows the operator to optionally choose to manually vent a plunger&#39;s cup of the air that is naturally trapped within the cup that renders the plunger less efficient as a result of the compressibility of air. The venting of air is accomplished by the opening of a shut off valve located within the inside and top of the cup. The shut off valve is connected to a longitudinal rod supported within the hollow shaft of said plunger. The rod protrudes through the grab handle of the plunger and terminates at a depressible button attached to the rod. Venting occurs when the operator depresses the button, which causes the rod to move longitudinally within the shaft, resulting in the shut off valve moving sway from its seat. Air entrapped is allowed out through holes located in the shaft.

REFERENCES CITED

U.S. Pat. No. 7,962,974 B2 June 2011 Lanier 4/255.02 U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,417 B1 February 2004 Schneider 4/255.12 U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,702 November 1986 Allen 4/255 U.S. Pat. No. 6,381,763 B1 May 2002 Schneider 4/255.11

D464,775 S October 2002 Larson D32/35

U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,301 March 2000 Wang 4/255.06 U.S. Pat. No. 6,163,895 December 2000 Davenport 4/255.06 U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,613 August 1996 Davenport 4/255.05

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

The embodiment of the improvement in this disclosure is contained within the plunger and does not require the cumbersome connection of an external source of water to the plunger as previous disclosures demonstrate. The disclosed improvement differs in previous disclosures that vent the enclosed trapped air by means of a self actuating vent valve that must be employed in the use of plunger without giving the operator any option of whether to include the use of the vent valve or not during the application of the plunger. The improvement disclosed is a feature that can be optionally employed as the operator of the plunger desires thus allowing the plunger to be used as a conventional plunger without ventilation. The improvement disclosed improves the efficiency of conventional plungers in that in the operation of the plunger during which the operator a volume of non-compressible water is used to dislodge clogs rather than a volume of compressible air.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure concerns typical or conventional toilet plunger devices (i.e.—ones consisting of at least two basic elements: a shaft/handle assembly and an attached cup, bellows, or bulb) and more specifically pertains to an improvement that would benefit all typical toilet plunger devices by venting the entrapped air that naturally exists within the attached cup, bellows, or bulb of such devices during their application into a toilet bowl that is either partially or completely filled with water due to the obstruction in the trap or toilet's adjacent plumbing, thereby permitting a non-compressible volume of water to be applied to the obstruction rather than compressible air.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

A typical conventional toilet plunger is disclosed with an added feature that allows the operator to optionally choose to manually vent a plunger's cup, bellows, or bulb of the air that is naturally trapped within the cup, bellows, or bulb during the operation of the plunger that renders the plunger less efficient as a result of the compressibility of air. The venting of air is accomplished by the opening of a shut off valve located within the inside of the cup, bellows, or bulb and at the top of said components. The shut off valve is seated against the distal end of the shaft of a typical plunger from the operator's grasp, the shaft of which is used to transmit longitudinal force from the operator to the cup, bellows, or bulb of the plunger. The shut off valve is physically attached to a longitudinal rod supported within the hollow shaft of said plunger. The longitudinal rod protrudes through the grab handle of the plunger and terminates in the form of a depressible button attached to the rod. The shut off valve is biased in the closed position as a result of a compression spring situated between the shaft of the plunger and the rod, with one end of said spring on the top surface of a top most supporting bearing for the rod located within the hollow shaft and near the operator's end of the shaft, and with the other end of said spring bearing directly against the underside of the depressible button. Venting occurs when the operator depresses the button, which causes the rod to move longitudinally within the shaft, resulting in the shut off valve moving away from its seat. Air entrapped within the underside of the cup, bellows, or bulb, is allowed to travel up within the space between the hollow shaft and the rod, out through holes located in the shaft just above the point of attachment of the cup, bellows, or bulb to the shaft.

The usefulness of the disclosure is readily apparent: a single plunger containing the improvement can now be used instead of having two or more plungers each having beneficial features; the use of the existing water in a clogged toilet for the inclusion of hydraulic force for obstruction removal instead of the cumbersome import of an external water source for this purpose. In addition, the quick, simple application of the improvement is evident—the plunger is immersed in a toilet bowl partially or completely filled with water as a result of a clog and positioned onto the trap opening, the operator depresses the button until air bubble cease to exit from the shaft of the plunger, and the plunger is ready for the downward thrust used to expel the obstruction.

The objects of the disclosure, along with its features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claim annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front side view of a toilet plunger incorporating an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a front side view of a toilet plunger incorporating an embodiment of the disclosure with handle and shut off/vent valve areas circled for enlargement.

FIG. 3 is an enlargement of a view of the handle area circled in FIG. 2 showing a portion of an embodiment that includes the button and internal biasing means of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is an enlargement of a view circled in FIG. 2 of a portion of an embodiment that includes the venting means and the shut off/vent valve of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a toilet plunger incorporating an embodiment of the disclosure showing the direction and area to be sectioned for a sectional view of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the area to be sectioned in FIG. 5 along with circled areas of the handle and shut off/vent valve to be enlarged for detail.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the handle area circled in FIG. 6 showing a portion of an embodiment that includes the button and internal biasing means of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the shut off/vent valve areas circled in FIG. 6 showing a portion of an embodiment that includes the venting means and the shut off/vent valve of the disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referencing the drawings, in particular, FIGS. 2 through 8, an improvement to a typical/conventional toilet plunger (such plunger designed generally by the reference numeral 11 (in the drawings), is embodied in the concepts and principles of an embodiment of the disclosure, and will be described.

FIG. 2 illustrates a typical/conventional toilet plunger 11 with a handle/shaft assembly 1 and in this representation, a bellows 2, attached to the handle/shaft assembly 1. FIG. 2 also shows the two principle areas circled where the improvement is located: at the handle 10 and the opposite end of the hollow shaft 9 from the handle 10. FIG. 3 shows a depressible button 3 protruding out the top of a concentric hole in the handle 10. FIG. 4 shows the vent 4, two circular holes in the shaft 9, directly across from each other, located below the lower of two bearings 8 attached to the inside diameter of the hollow shaft 9 as the plunger 11 is situated in a vertical position as is shown in FIG. 2. The one bearing located at the handle 10 end of the shaft 9 and the other at the opposite end, above the bellows 2. FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the improvement at the handle 10 end. The depressible button 3 is shown to be attached to an end of the rod 6 that is internal to the shaft 9, and such button 3 protrudes from a hole in the handle 10 that serves as a bearing surface for the up and down movement of the button 3. The underside surface of the button 3 serves as a seat for the upper end of the compression spring 5, also shown in FIG. 7. The lower end of the compression spring 5 is sealed against the top surface of the upper bearing 8 which is attached to the inner diameter of the hollow shaft 9 near the end attached to the handle 10. FIGS. 4 and 8 show the shut off/vent valve 7 that is attached to the end of the rod 6 which rides on the interior surface of the lower bearing 8 which is attached to the inner diameter of the hollow shaft 9 whose end in FIGS. 4 and 8 serves as the seat for the shut off/vent valve 7.

During application, the plunger 11 is lowered in a vertical fashion into a toilet bowl that is partially or completely filled with water due to an obstruction in the trap or plumbing afterward. While lowering, the operator depresses the button 3 with a thumb which opens the normally closed shut off/vent valve 7 due to the bias applied on it through the rod 6 as a result of the compression spring 5 applying upward pressure on the attached button 3. The lower lip of the bellows 2 is situated onto the trap opening, making a sealed connection between it and the opening. If the water level in the bowl is above the location of the vent holes 4, then the operator releases pressure on the button after observing the cessation of bubbles from the vent holes 4. If the water level in the bowl is below the location of the vent holes 4, then the operator releases pressure on the button 3 after waiting several seconds. Each hand grasps the handle 10 with the depressible button 3 in between them. The shut off/vent valve 7 is thus in a closed position. The operator proceeds to operate the plunger 11 in the usual fashion by thrusting downward on the shaft 9 through the handle 10 which results in a volume of non-compressible water being propelled against the obstruction pushing it downstream in the plumbing. 

I therefore claim:
 1. A venting mechanism incorporated in a toilet plunger consisting of at least two basic elements; a handle/shaft assembly and an attached cup, bellows, or bulb, comprising: a rod located interior to a shaft of the said handle/shaft assembly, which extends a length longitudinally of the said shaft from the said cup, hollows, or bulb of said plunger to a handle of the said handle/shaft assembly; the said of the said handle/shaft assembly, cylindrical and hollow in shape, provides means for venting air through ports in the side walls of said shaft as well as means for supporting the said rod through the use of bearings comprising; the said bearings: two cylindrically shaped bearings attached to an interior wall of the said shaft, a first bearing located at a distal end of the said shaft from a handle end of the said handle/shaft assembly and a second bearing located at the said handle end of the said handle/shaft assembly, each having a centrally located shaft bore for the facilitated axial movement of the said rod; a depressible button attached to a end of the said rod terminating at the said handle of the said handle/shaft assembly and said second bearing in a cylindrical hole in the said handle of the said handle/shaft assembly, and; a spring located within the said shaft of the said handle/shaft assembly providing a bias upon the said rod; a shut off/vent valve located within a underside of the said cup, bellows, or bulb of said typical/conventional toilet plunger and at a top underside interior surface; wherein a top being defined by a position of the said plunger when the said shaft of the said handle/shaft assembly is held in a vertical position of the said cup, bellows, or bulb of the said plunger; is connected to a distal end of the said rod, said shut off/vent valve being biased in a normally closed or shut position as a result of the said bias upon the said rod and allows the transference of air or fluid between the top of the underside interior of said cup, bellows, or bulb and an exterior of said cup, bellows, or bulb; wherein depression of said button displaces said rod within said shaft of said handle/shaft assembly and unseals the said shut off/vent valve allowing a passage way for air or fluid interior to the said cup, bellows, or bulb of said typical plunger to travel to the top and exterior of said cup, bellows, or bulb through the said means for venting air provided by the said shaft of said typical plunger, all of which occurring during the placement of said plunger into a toilet bowl where a lower portion of said cup, bellows, or bulb is seated against a lower opening of the said toilet bowl that contains a fluid level less than, equal to, or greater than a height of said cup, bellows, or bulb. 